“There’s a lot of different kinds of comedy. There’s comedians who do one liners, puns, props and lots of other types. I’m a story-teller. I like my audience to feel like they’re sitting in my apartment after we’ve all been out. I like them to feel like it’s just a small group and we’re sharing funny stories.
I find that when I share intimate things people tend to warm to me a bit more. It’s like a technique to gain trust. Plus most of my comedy is me making fun of myself so being honest is sort of all I can do,” says Australian born comedian Jonathan Duffy, also referred to as Jono Duffy.
Jono is one of the many artists that will perform during this year’s Reykjavík Pride. One of Jono’s many contributions is the stand up show Australiana which he will perform in Iðnó on Friday the 5th of August. This is far from being Jono’s first stand up show but will the audience experience something different this time?
“It is quite different from what people have seen of me here in Iceland. In Australia I wasn’t just a comedian I was also a cabaret performer, which for those who are unfamiliar basically means I would add musical elements to my shows. For some reason people in Iceland always think cabaret is burlesque. In this show, Australiana, I will be telling stories about what it was like growing up in Australia, what I miss and ultimately why I left.
People who have only seen the comedian side of me will definitely be treated to something new because the show will have a range of emotions, not just comedy. The entire show is pieced together through songs I have selected by Australian artists that form a timeline of events for me. These songs have been remixed by Dusk so it should add yet another element of something different.”
It’s been a while since Jono left Australia but he moved to Iceland about a year ago after travelling a bit around Europe. What was it like growing up gay in Australia?
“My little brother is gay and I think we both had different experiences. For me, growing up gay was really tough. Australia back then was an incredibly homophobic country. I was picked on at school for being gay before I even realized I was. The kind of bullying wasn’t just psychological either, it was physical,” says Jono and is reminded of an incident that happened at school.
“One time I even was threatened in the toilets with a knife by another student because he “didn’t want a faggot in the room while he was pissing”. School was not a safe place to come out.”
He says that he still expects to be treated with prejudice in his homeland.
“Even today in Australia you can expect to have something shouted at you for holding hands with another man. It sticks with you well into your adult life. Even now as a professional gay (someone who is gay for a living) when I hold hands with a man in Iceland, there is still a thought in the back of my mind saying: “Will someone kill me for this?” I noticed things had started to change a little when my brother was in high school. The other students were more ok with kids being gay and over time I think that has started to change society, but there is still a long way to go,” says Jono. The first thing he noticed when he moved to Iceland was that there weren’t any gay ghettos in Reykjavík.
“Well, if joking about fucking Páll Óskar got me a music video gig, then maybe I should start setting my sights on Jónsi.”
“In Australia, and a lot of other countries in the world, there are neighborhoods where clusters of gays live. This is usually because of the whole safety in numbers thought. If they live around gay people they won’t have to deal with the threat of homophobia. There isn’t really anything like that here. I think that has something to do with the very low rates of homophobia in Iceland. I’ve noticed that because of a small population, everyone who grows up here tends to know someone who is sexually or gender diverse. In turn this means that we aren’t just a concept to everyone, we’re a human being. Because of this, there doesn’t seem to be a need for us all to live in the one neighborhood.”
Caitlyn Jenner is bat shit crazy
Jono has said in past interviews that it’s easier for him to make fun of gays because he is one himself. But what about the other minorities that make up the queer community? Does he joke about them as well?
“I don’t really make fun of the other letters of the rainbow alphabet. Occasionally I’ve made jokes about lesbians but that’s more about me being closer to a stereotypical lesbian than a gay man. Oh, and I’ve made fun of Caitlyn Jenner but that has nothing to do with her being trans, it was about the fact that she’s a bit homophobic and bat shit crazy.
I have a bit of an old-fashioned belief in that you should always make fun of yourself first. If you run out of things to make fun of in yourself, then you can start to look for it in other people, but only people who can take it. Like celebrities, politicians and Keira Knightly – she knows what she did.”
This year we’ve seen tragedies in the queer community such as the shooting in Orlando. Do you think you can battle prejudice with humor?
“In my experience yes. When I am doing stand up for a straight audience I like to think I am doing that by educating. When I’m on stage talking about the intricacies of Grindr or what is was like to come out, I’ve noticed that “light bulb” moment on people’s faces. That moment where they realize that you are a human; a flawed human just like them who is trying to do their best to pretend to have their shit together, just like everyone else.
“We live in a world where there is so much time spent on saying the right thing … but it’s also important to spend time not taking ourselves too seriously. I’ve been doing comedy for 12 years and I am yet to see something unify a room as quickly and effectively as humor.”
I’ve even been approached by men who I wouldn’t walk down a dark alley with in the past who have told me that because they saw my show they realized that gay people are “alright”. Now I wouldn’t say that’s the best choice of word but it’s a start,” says Jono with a grin. He believes humor can unify people and thinks that laughter combined with visibility can be a powerful weapon for the LGBTQI+ community.
“I think visibility is paramount and humor certainly helps, especially if you’re not afraid to make fun of yourself. We live in a world now where there is so much time spent on saying the right thing or choosing words carefully, which is important, but I think it’s also important to spend time not taking ourselves too seriously. We need to give others permission to laugh at our comedic moments just like they do for everyone else. I’ve been doing comedy for 12 years and I am yet to see something unify a room as quickly and effectively as humor.”
The ultimate rejection
Jono is outspoken and can sometimes shock people to their very core. He’s even said that the only reason he moved to Iceland was to fuck the famous singer Páll Óskar.
“It has not happened, but if it ever does I will live tweet the shit out of it. You could say it was the ultimate rejection. Instead of accepting my advances, he just gave me a job – to make a music video,” says Jono with a laugh. But has he found another prey?
“Well, if joking about fucking Páll Óskar got me a music video gig, then maybe I should start setting my sights on Jónsi.”
But it’s not all jokes and laughs. Jono has had some pretty awful moments as a comedian as well.
“Plenty. There’s always times where the audience is a bit too drunk, or talking, or there’s someone who insists that all comedians like to be heckled and it’s a part of the experience.
I would say that the worst experiences have always been my fault though. Either I didn’t prepare enough or I didn’t think enough about my audience. One time back in Melbourne I did a whole set about anal sex and the audience was almost completely lesbian. I completely bombed.
In most cases you really can’t blame your audience. One of the tough things in comedy is that you’re only as good as your last gig so when you have a bad one, you need to get right back up again and do a good one. It’s a bit like being in a car accident. The longer you wait to get back behind the wheel, the harder it will be.”
Jono is not only performing his own show on Friday. He’s also hosting the biggest DragSúgur, a drag show tonight (Tuesday), and doing his regular show with Bylgja Babýlons, The Minority Report, on Wednesday. If that’s not plenty, he is also involved with the artistic direction of the opening event on Thursday. So will he join the Pride Parade as well?
“I’ve been asked by a few different groups if I will join their float but I’m torn. I actually love to watch the parade but I guess being the only openly gay comedian in the country I probably should march. Maybe I’ll even do it in drag, who knows?”